BRADENTON, Fla. – CC Sabathia stood tall in his Raiders cap and Air Jordan T-shirt. He looked comfortable and sounded confident. With his sixth Yankees Opening Day start just five days away, Sabathia said he's ready. No pain. No worries. No doubts.

And the more he talked, the more it became obvious: he didn't feel the same way at this time last year.

After making his final spring start on Thursday, Sabathia acknowledged that he entered last season with concerns; concerns that played out through the course of his worst professional season.

"Of course," he said. "I didn't know that the weight loss was going to affect me that much. There were just some games that I was short, just didn't have the stuff. It was frustrating, but I can accept getting beat this year if I do, just because I feel so much better."

At 33 years old, Sabathia isn't shortchanging himself this season. He kept the weight off, but did it smarter this offseason, making sure to maintain his strength and build his durability. His fastball velocity is still diminished, but he's learned to work with it, going back to his changeup and incorporating a new cutter.

Four scoreless innings against the Pirates finished off a terrific spring in which he had a 1.29 ERA, highlighted by five no-hit innings against the Marlins in Panama.

"Velocity is overrated in baseball," former Yankees and current Pirates catcher Russell Martin said. "Throwing hard is not being good. Being good is being good. Greg Maddux was good and he didn't throw hard. Throwing hard is not the reason (Sabathia) was good in the first place. Being able to pitch is why he was good."

Sabathia acknowledged that last season took him too long to adjust. He was coming off elbow surgery the previous offseason. He'd lost significant weight heading into spring training. His fastball never gained its usual velocity, and his changeup became erratic. His 4.78 ERA was the highest of his career, the first time he'd been above 4.00 since 2005.

"I just didn't have the stuff last year," he said. "We keep talking about last year, last year. My stuff wasn't the same. I wasn't as strong. I didn't have any life on my fastball. It just wasn't the same guy."

This spring he's looked like the same guy the Yankees saw in his first four years in New York. His fastball is closer to 90 mph than 95 mph, but he's located it and kept hitters off balance.

"I know velocity can be important when you're making mistakes," manager Joe Girardi said. "But CC was a guy who had velocity that had really good command. And if his command's there, he's going to have success."

Even with Masahiro Tanaka now on the roster and Hiroki Kuroda coming off back-to-back standout seasons, there was never any doubt that Sabathia would start Tuesday's opener. He's the ace, and this year he leaving spring training expecting to pitch like one.

"I look to pitch well every time no matter what, spring training or the World Series," he said. "I'm glad that I pitched well (this spring). Now it's time to clean the slate and start the season."